Franklin Roosevelt,
that one of the greatest American presidents, once stated that
“happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the
joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort”. To the average
Nigerian, this statement will seem the prattling of an imbecile; it
will elicit a scornful laughter. Interestingly, there was a time in
Nigeria when these same words of Franklin Roosevelt would have struck
a chord in Nigerian minds. That was before the oil boom.

Then, before we
became engulfed by greed and cupidity, we could think of success or
fulfillment in terms other than as measured by the possession of
money. We were not as wealth-conscious, selfish and insatiable. Life
was not all about money: to acquire it and to hold on to it at all
cost. It was not all about self: self-absorbed, self-serving,
self-indulgent, etc. We could volunteer our time and resources for
causes that did more than just serve our personal interests, that is,
for the collective good. People’s expectations were modest and
reasonable. Money was expected to be earned. People worked and
expected to be paid in accordance with their work and abilities. Free
money and all other sorts of undeserved riches were disapproved of.
The society shunned and snubbed those who assented to free money, or
made their fortune from illegitimate engagements. They were considered
frauds, criminals and excoriated for having reaped where they have not
sown.

Oil wealth is
unique in that it does not come from any national effort, toil or
sweat. It is not from any national agricultural, manufacturing,
scientific or technological enterprise. It results not from our
resourcefulness, innovation or ingenuity. It is just a windfall. It
literally drops from above. Invariably, it seemed to loom in the
horizon, and ready to drop into outstretched hands. To appear to loom
in the horizon and ready to drop into stretched-out hands was not the
problem. That is, as long as we clung to our earlier values that
stressed hard work and considered unmerited money an anathema. It was
possible to have oil boom and still have an honest and disciplined
society. Oil boom would just have meant increased affluence, better
opportunities and a higher standard of living for every Nigerian.

It was the woeful
mix of oil money and corrupt leadership that resulted in the total
moral and ethical collapse of the Nigerian society. At the advent of
oil boom, Nigeria was under military rule. Military involvement in
politics proved a raw grab for power couched in moralizing lectures
about their mission to restore political order, end official
corruption and prepare the country for democracy. Nigeria lost her
innocence as the brutality and bloodletting that attended military
intervention in politics brutalized the national psyche and ushered in
a culture of violence.

Military rule
brought selfishness, bribery and corruption to hitherto unimaginable
levels. While the most notoriously corrupt politicians of the 1st
Republic were accused of stealing or misappropriating 10 percent of
the cost of government projects, in the early days of military rule,
it rose to about 25 percent. Towards the last days of military rule,
it went up to 200 percent, as the cost of government projects were
inflated by up to 100% and the entire fund stolen and the project not
executed at all.

Edward Gibbon,
summing up the soldier’s appalling lack of aptitude for political
leadership, wrote that “the temperament of soldiers, habituated at
once to violence and servitude renders them unfit administrators of a
legal or civil constitution. Justice, humanity, or political wisdom,
are qualities they are too little acquainted with in themselves to
appreciate …in others.” To these gun toting usurpers, power was just
an instrument for indulging their megalomania, licentiousness,
despotism, bribery, etc. They saw no higher purpose of governance than
self-gratification, self-enrichment and self-aggrandizement. Their
every act assaulted the work ethics and the elevated morals of the
society.

From their deeds,
the society learnt that hard work, honesty and commitment do not pay;
that only the weak, stupid and feckless work for their money. That the
elite, privileged and influential make their money from corruption,
fraud and outright stealing of public funds. That is, that greediness,
lying, fraudulence and theft are not punished but rewarded, especially
in the powerful and prominent circles. Taking a cue from our leaders,
we became irredeemably selfish, insatiably greedy and incurably
dishonest. Our expectations changed. They become unrealistic,
perverse, depraved and iniquitous, because it was no longer work and
resourcefulness that determined income, but connections, falsehood,
corrupt activities, disregard for norms, traditions and the law, and
even dalliance with satanic forces. We stopped despising free and
unmerited money, and began to cherish and applaud it. We lost our
sense of fidelity, loyalty and commitment to family, friends and the
nation.

This distorted
mindset and the resulting society’s willful penchant to reap where it
had not sown have ramified so damagingly for the country. It permeated
and ruined every segment of the Nigerian social order. Naturally, it
gave Nigeria a place among the most corrupt countries of the world. It
reduced the country to a vast degenerate system honeycombed with
crooks, con artists, lairs, drug peddlers, smugglers, ritual killers,
etc. It demeaned her to something of a menagerie where anarchy reigns
supreme and every institution malfunctions. These lawlessness and
dysfunction are obvious in our politics, cities, hospitals, schools,
bureaucracy, churches, – just in every facet of our lives.

Nigeria is a vivid
and instructive example of what the convergence of wealth and
irresponsible leadership can do to a country. A system is only a
product of its politics and leadership, especially its leadership. Our
present situation is the product of a failed political structure,
military rule, and the brutal, visionless, immoral dictators it
bestowed on us, as leaders. Democracy offers a magnificent opportunity
for moral and ethical regeneration. This explains the disproportionate
representation of democracies among the world’s most advanced and
successful countries. The ringing question is can Yar’Adua as the
president, the repository of the hopes of the nation and the powers of
its government, lead this country back to higher standards of probity
and morality? Thus far, he seems a virtuous man with honorable
intensions but lacks the political will to shoulder the mammoth
responsibilities entrusted on him by fate.